Vol 1 Chapter 1.1 (2/2)

“h.e.l.lo!? h.e.l.lo!? Anyone here!?”

I shouted from the top of my lungs. Even then, there’s still no reply. All I can hear is the sound of the computer and the fridge buzzing. That noise makes me lose my temper even more.

“d.a.m.n… d.a.m.n it!!!”

I can’t stand it anymore, so I dash out of the store and shout.

“ANYBODY HERE?!!!”

I shouted as hard as I can. But even that gets sucked away by the night's darkness. There’s no change and, again, it’s just silence. What… This is as if… This is as if I’m the only one left in the world!!! What the h.e.l.l!?

“Somebody! Answer me!!!”

Isn’t there… Isn’t there anyone? I need a way to confirm that I’m not the only human being here… That’s it! Mobile phone! I take my phone out of my pocket, who should I call? Home? No, calling the police is the quickest solution, right? I try to call 110 and-

I was so freaked out I even forgot to breathe.

2:14am.

All of my previous thoughts just floated out of my head in an instant. I just stare at the time with no expression. The seconds tick away, “56… 57… 58… 59…0”, but, it’s only the seconds which move, and the minutes don’t change at all. It stays as 2:14am. Is this even possible? Is it some kind of trick? Someone’s trying to scare me? I’m too confused. This situation I’m in-

“………!?”

A loud scream wiped away all my panicking thoughts. There’s someone else besides me!

“Kyaaa~!!!”

It’s a voice of a girl. Even though I’m filled with joy, now’s not the right time to be happy. It’s clearly a voice calling for someone’s help! I run towards where the voice came from. Is it a molester or something? Even if this weren’t a ghost town, it’s certain that there are no people here. I have to help her!

“! Are they over there!?”

I hear someone’s footsteps, getting further away from me.

“Hey, wait!”

I can’t save anyone if they keep moving. Then for a moment, in the corner of my eyes, I see a figure of a girl who disappeared around the corner of the alley.

“Wait…!”

I increase my speed. I’ve finally found ‘someone’ here besides me. I must not lose sight of her. I dash into the alley and-

BANG!!!

All of a sudden something hit me, and I see stars. The dull shock I received has gone all over my body, I’m dizzy and I fall over and land on my b.u.t.t.

“Wha… What?”

Why am I… Why am I sitting down…? I can’t think about it properly. My vision is blurry and I am dizzy. Trying to fix that, I shake my head and, *KIIN!* -I receive a huge headache and I curl my body up. Right next to me… I hear footsteps. Is… someone there?

“………”

I lift my head up. In my blurred vision what I saw was… a girl. She was a cute girl, who is probably the same age as me. The uniform she’s wearing is something I am very familiar with.

“Owww…!”

The headache came back, and I dropped my head down again. Then while falling down, what came in my sight was a wooden bat. The bat slowly lifts up, and my eyes follow it back up. My eyes caught the girl’s eyes. The girl was staring at me, and in those eyes I saw fear. She was breathing hard. Was it because she ran? Was it because she fears me? Or is she worrying about what she’s about to do next?

“….u….”

What the h.e.l.l is she doing? Why is she glaring at me like that? The thoughts confuse my mind. But, because I was smashed before, my tongue isn’t moving properly. The words don’t come out of my mouth. My confused body just won’t order my mouth to speak.

“haa…haaa…ha…!!!”

The girls pants even harder. The bat she lifted up, is being swung straight down towards my head! s.h.i.+t!!!

“s.h.i.+-”

“ARGHHHHHHH!”

While shouting so, so hard that my throat could’ve exploded, I wake right up.

“Meoooooooow!”

Right next to me on my bed, my cat Miiko screams and runs out of my room.

“Whohhh, oohhh this place is…”

I don’t even need to confirm it, it’s my room, in my home, in my city. It’s not in s.h.i.+rais.h.i.+ City, nor is it nighttime… The sunlight coming out from the gaps of my curtain confirms that the sun has already risen.

“Wha… Dre… Dream?”

My heart is beating really quickly. Sweat has covered my entire body. Was this because of that dream, or was it because it’s just a hot day?

“Tha… That was a dream, right?”

I can’t help but question myself. It was that much of a realistic dream. I remember it perfectly. The nighttime town, with no sign of people, the footsteps… and even… the ma.s.sive pain I got from the girl who smashed me in the head…

“………”

I carefully touch my head with my hands… With worried thoughts, I slowly rub my hands around… But my head does not have a bruise, nor is it damaged in any way… My hand does not get covered in blood and the pain is not there anymore.

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